a reckoning for the fallen crypto king. sam bankman—fried is due to be sentenced for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his ftx exchange. he faces decades behind bars. more industrial action against amazon as workers in birmingham in the uk strike over pay and union rights. welcome to world business report. we start in the new york — where sam bankman—fried — the former cryptocurrency tycoon convicted of stealing billions of dollars from customers — is due to be sentenced for his crimes. the 32—year old founder of the collapsed crypto exchange ftx

could face decades in prison. our cyber correspondentjoe tidy was the last person to interview bankman—fried before he was arrested in december 2022. and he takes a look back at the rise and fall of the man behind one of the biggest financial crimes in us history. one interesting thing that's been happening pretty recently is that the bitmex bitcoin perpetual futures ran up a lot in price. this was sam bankman—fried in his element — at his desk, talking crypto and making incredible profits. his hair and shabby look were all part of the appeal and brand. sbf, as he was known by legions of fans online, portrayed himself as a maths genius who wasn't interested in personal wealth. it was all about developing the cryptocurrency industry and giving to charities. this is big. but ftx, his cryptocurrency exchange that sold bitcoin and other virtual currencies for normal money, like pounds and dollars, grew to be the centrepiece of a sprawling business worth $32 billion.

so, when it all came crashing down in december 2022, more than a million customers were left out of pocket. in a high—profile trial in new york in november, he was convicted of seven counts, including fraud and money laundering. sam bankman—fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in american history, a multi—billion dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto. but here's the thing — the cryptocurrency industry might be new. the players like sam bankman—fried might be new. but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption, is as old as time, and we have no patience for it. the court case saw his former staff and even his girlfriend testify against him. his chief crime was that he illegally used customer deposits from ftx to fund his other business. prosecutors are asking the judge to sentence him to 50 years in prison, but his defence team want around five years.

they argue that most of the billions of dollars bankman—fried lost have now been recovered, but critics say he shows no remorse. in an interview in his luxury apartment complex in the bahamas just before he was arrested, he admitted to making mistakes but claimed it wasn't deliberate. were you incompetent or were you fraudulent? i didn't knowingly commit fraud. i don't think i committed fraud. i didn't want any of this to happen. i was certainly not nearly as competent as i thought i was. but a convicted criminal he now is. and it's up to a judge to decide how long he'll be behind bars for one of the biggest financial crimes in us history. joe tidy, bbc news. our north america business correspondent erin delmore is at the court in new york with the latest. hello. the world is watching because this is essentially going to be a

president in the world of crypto currency. what has happened so far this morning? == currency. what has happened so far this morning?— this morning? -- president. this is a big moment _ this morning? -- president. this is a big moment not _ this morning? -- president. this is a big moment notjust _ this morning? -- president. this is a big moment notjust for- this morning? -- president. this is a big moment not just for the - this morning? -- president. this is. a big moment notjust for the crypto industry but the final note in sam bankman—fried's. he personally is in court this morning, a prison outfit with two uniformed guards behind him. at stake here today is the judge decides what punishment fits the crime. what is being debated in that courtroom behind me right now is the size and scale of the crime. thejudge made clear that is the size and scale of the crime. the judge made clear that the prosecution argues there was a lot totalling greater than $515 million. the defence says that people who lost money with ftx stand to be paid backin lost money with ftx stand to be paid back in full. the resulting way the prosecution has argued for between 40 prosecution has argued for between a0 and 50 years incarceration time for sam bankman—fried. the defence far less, between five and six years. some tough words from the judge this morning. he said he sees the loss greatly exceeding $550 million and the reason why that is a bar is because that is the top of

the sentencing guidelines. if that can be shown on the judge is able to give the widest sentence, the greatest sentence that is in his guideline book. he said he will come in below that, but he likened it to keep going to las vegas, taking the bag of loot used all, betting it, winning the outcome and then not be entitled to keep the fans. the judge said just because bankruptcy proceedings have been able to call back some money, we pay some creditors and debt for investors and customers doesn't mean no crime was committed. ., ., , ., , , ., committed. how has he appeared in revious committed. how has he appeared in previous court _ committed. how has he appeared in previous court appearances? - previous court appearances? previously in court he has been loquacious, lively, at times during proceedings we did see his mood to of a sour proceedings we did see his mood to ofa sourturn, proceedings we did see his mood to of a sour turn, largely in response to rebukes by thejudge, who has never been shy about calling out mr sam bankman—fried and telling him to stick to the point and don't take so much time. today we have only heard a few words from mr sam bankman—fried, just your honour,

short, clipped, to the point. you might have an opportunity to speak later today which he might take and it would be in characterfor later today which he might take and it would be in character for the sam bankman—fried we knew before the guilty verdict and before he sent similar time guilty verdict and before he sent similartime injail. we guilty verdict and before he sent similar time in jail.— similar time in “ail. we will be s-ueakin similar time in “ail. we will be speaking to— similar time in jail. we will be speaking to you _ similar time in jail. we will be speaking to you over- similar time in jail. we will be speaking to you over the - similar time in jail. we will be i speaking to you over the coming hours, so thank you for that update. and you can follow the latest developments on sam bankman—fried's case in new york — on the live page of our website. here in the uk, more than 200 workers are taking part in two days of strike action at an amazon site in birmingham. members of the gmb union have been striking at the online retailer's fulfilment centre since wednesday. it will be the latest industrial action over a long—running dispute, with gmb calling for a £15—per—hour — that's around $18 — minimum pay rate — and union rights.

in november last year, amazon workers from 30 countries went on strike during black friday, over pay and conditions. so, are these strikes having any effect? eva pascoe is e—commerce director for the retail practice. she says amazon's management is facing a perfect storm. it's a very challenging situation for amazon, because although they pay well above minimum wage, obviously we had a massive cost of living crisis and amazon management is facing a serious perfect storm. so the workers are asking for £15 per hour. that's way above inflation. that's over a 20% increase. and in addition, we had quite a lot of industrial action in uk injanuary. so the unions are getting more aggressive and i think management of amazon have just got caught unprepared, because a lot of management is american and they don't really feel

the local atmosphere. so when i compare the warehouses in amazon versus other warehouses, where they have a challenge that the amazon management seems a bit robotic, they are lacking local understanding while other warehouses tend to be run by local people. so they should have reconsidered that. but, you know, on the other hand, amazon is under a really perfect storm situation, because it's under pressure for two large chinese competitors. so there was a big entry in the market a couple of years ago of a company called shein and temu, and both have taken about 1.5 billion trading from uk. so that's combined. it hit amazon by about three billion. so out of the 30 billion turnover, they are significantly down. so they have issues with finding balance in satisfying the shareholders, but also trying to look after the people while the market for them is shrinking.

to the spanish island of ibiza now — and the soaring cost of a place to live. in many parts of spain, rental costs have risen steeply in recent years. but in the tourist hotspot of ibiza, the rise has been magnified by the influx of foreign visitors. and that has left many locals unable to find affordable accommodation — and businesses struggling to find vital staff. guy hedgecoe reports. ibiza is preparing for the summer tourist season. its beaches and resorts have long been a magnet for holiday—makers. but its success has helped create a housing crisis. across the balearic islands, rental costs have increased by nearly 20% over the last year alone, and in ibiza the increases have been even sharper. there are several reasons for the steep rise in rental costs. higher interest rates and a higher cost of living have discouraged people from buying property.

that, in turn, has led to an increase in demand for rented accommodation, pushing up rental rates. tourism is also a major factor. last year, 3.7 million people visited ibiza and the neighbouring island of formentera. many stay in flats, pushing up rental prices and keeping locals out of the housing market. this man is a chef, but although he has work, he's been sleeping in his car for the last three years — something which many workers on the island now resort to. translation: in ibiza, accommodation is very | expensive and is getting more and more expensive. the cost of renting is completely out of kilter with what you earn. when you've been living this long in a car, there comes a moment when you say, "i can't do this any more. i need a home."

local activists are demanding that this phenomenon be stopped. translation: the problem we have is that the island's housing is not - being used for the purpose for which it was built. it is being used as a speculative business and for tourism. this situation is affecting local businesses. the old beach disco and restaurant is preparing for the high season. but finding staff in ibiza or from elsewhere is not easy. i've already got friends on the island whose rent has doubled in the last year, so when you are looking at workers coming to the island, it's a massive factor and it's well—known. so i think it will ultimately affect people coming to the island and getting workers to come to ibiza. the local authorities say the housing crisis is caused by homeowners who break the law by offering their properties to rent for short periods.

the problem is that you earn much more money renting for days or for weeks than if you rent according to the law, which is at least six months. and you have a lot of people who are now renting illegally — offering their properties illegally. as the high season approaches, the question is whether ibiza's success as a tourism destination can be sustained when housing is such a problem. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, ibiza. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. back with you shortly as we follow the latest developments from new york in the case of sam bankman—fried. he is due to be sentenced in new york today. that's it.

hello from the bbc sport centre. the english football association has charged newcastle united midfielder sandro tonali with misconduct after alleged breaches of betting rules. tonali has been charged with allegedly placing bets on football matches between august and october in 2023. his club newcastle say they acknowledge the misconduct charge and that the player retains the club's full support. the italian international has until the 5th of april to respond. tonali is currently serving a ten—month ban for betting offences whilst playing in italy. uefa has reacted to calls from several national team coaches, including england manager gareth southgate, on increasing the squad size for this summer's euros. southgate says there's been talk amongst coaches about wanting 26 players instead of 23, similar to the last euros when a larger squad was allowed as a precaution against covid. uefa said they had taken note and would listen to the views of coaches at a workshop on the 8th of april.